Even amidst personal glory, every athlete in a team sport knows it鈥檚 the scoreboard that counts most.
That鈥檚 what tempers University of Victoria Vikes star Amira Giannattasio鈥檚 franchise record-setting 44-point performance in Thursday night鈥檚 triple-overtime 113-108 women鈥檚 basketball sa国际传媒 West loss to the UBC Thunderbirds at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver.
鈥淚t sucks that we lost because we played so hard,鈥� said Giannattasio.
鈥淸The record] is rewarding but it would have felt better if we had won.鈥�
Giannattasio鈥檚 performance eclipsed the former Vikes record of 42 points scored by UVic legend and two-time Olympian Carol Turney-Loos in 1978 against the Saskatchewan Huskies. Turney-Loos, however, scored her 42 points in regulation time.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a credit to [Turney-Loos] and her career,鈥� said Giannattasio. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be part of that legacy.鈥�
Giannattasio鈥檚 was the fourth-highest single-game women鈥檚 hoops points total in sa国际传媒 West history behind former Calgary Dino Meagan Koch鈥檚 49 points in 1996, Koch鈥檚 45 points in 1995, and former SFU star and two-time Olympian Teresa Kleindienst鈥檚 45 in 2002.
The Vikes and Thunderbirds (both 2-1) continue their sa国际传媒 West rivalry today at 6 p.m. on Ken and Kathy Shields Court in the CARSA gym.
鈥淭hese games have always been close and we鈥檝e gone to overtime against UBC before, once double overtime, but I鈥檝e never been in a triple OT game before in my career,鈥� said Giannattasio.
To make the exhausting night even longer, the length of the game Thursday night made the Vikes miss the last ferry to Swartz Bay, so they had to come home on the last ferry to Nanaimo and then drive down-Island. The tired Vikes could be excused Friday for eschewing practice in favour of a video session.
鈥淲e want to get the win [tonight] and we want to do it in regulation time. No more overtimes,鈥� said Giannattasio, with a chuckle.
The key, she said, is team defence.
鈥淐learly, we can score,鈥� said Giannattasio, the fifth-year standout from Hamilton, Ont., who is seventh all-time in Vikes career scoring.
鈥淲e have to focus on our defence.鈥�
Meanwhile, the Vikes men鈥檚 team (1-2) takes on the U Sports nationally ranked No. 6 UBC Thunderbirds (2-1) tonight at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver.
The Thunderbirds defeated the Vikes 89-63 on Thursday evening in CARSA gym.
